Iran asserts full control over Strait of Hormuz and Gulf waters

TEHRAN — Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Ali Abdollahi, said on Monday, 26 October, that the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are fully under the control of Iran's armed forces, according to Indonesian news agency Antara.

Antara said the statement was quoted from Iran's state broadcaster, IRIB. This report relies on Antara alone. Zenga News has not independently verified the remarks or the situation in the waterway.

What Abdollahi said

According to Antara, Abdollahi described the extent of the area he said Iran controls. "The entire Persian Gulf and the islands within it, the Gulf of Oman and its coastline, as well as the eastern and western parts of the Strait of Hormuz, are under the control of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said, in Antara's Indonesian-language report, translated here.

He then addressed shipping. "As long as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, no ship will be allowed to pass through this strategic waterway outside the framework of Iran's orders," Abdollahi said, according to Antara.

Antara also reported that Abdollahi warned vessels that try to sail outside routes set by Iran. In the agency's account, such ships would face risk and suffer serious damage. The report does not say what the routes are, who would enforce them, or what form any damage would take.

What the report does not say

The Antara report is brief and leaves several points open. It does not say when the strait was declared closed by Iran, or whether Iranian authorities have issued a formal notice to shipping. It does not describe how Iran would enforce the stated conditions. It gives no figures on vessels that have been stopped, turned back or allowed through under Iranian direction.

The report also carries no response from the United States, Israel or Gulf states to Abdollahi's remarks. It does not say whether shipping companies or maritime authorities have commented.

Antara's report was illustrated with a photograph taken on 10 September 2026 by Anadolu photographer Fatemeh Bahrami. The caption said a number of merchant ships belonging to Iran and to other countries were still anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on that date.

Related reports linked by Antara

Antara placed links to other articles within its report. The headlines of those articles give an indication of other claims in circulation, though their content is not part of the material reviewed for this report and cannot be treated as established here.

One headline says Iran has said the Middle East will change completely after the war. A second says the US military stated that more than 95 percent of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz safely. A third says the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that a tanker hit a mine and caught fire in the strait. The first and third headlines come from Iranian sources, and the second from the US military, according to the headlines as Antara presented them. The two accounts of shipping safety, as summarised in those headlines, differ in tone. Zenga News has not reviewed the underlying articles.

Background

According to Antara, the United States and Israel began striking targets in Iran on 28 February, and Iran retaliated. The agency did not specify the targets or the scale of the strikes or of Iran's response.

Antara reported that in mid-June, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding to end hostilities. It said that shortly afterwards the two sides again launched attacks against each other. The agency did not give details of those later attacks.

Antara said the conflict between Iran and the United States remains unresolved.

The agency reported that the escalation around Iran left the Strait of Hormuz blockaded in practice, or "de facto", in its words. It did not say who imposed the blockade or when it began.

Antara described the strait as an important route for shipping oil and liquefied natural gas from Persian Gulf states to global markets. It said disruption in the waterway has also affected oil export and production levels in the region and has pushed oil prices higher. The report gave no price figures, no export volumes and no dates for those effects.

Antara's article was translated by Yoanita Hastryka Djohan and edited by Fransiska Ninditya.

Further statements from Iranian officials, the US government or shipping authorities would be needed to confirm how the stated control operates in practice and whether vessels are being allowed to transit under Iranian direction.